Post by Slinger on May 30, 2021 15:29:38 GMT
On to my second pick, and it's another "story song," but this time it's another variation on the theme; it's a personal story.
Harry Chapin is one of the few artists I really regret never having the opportunity to see live, and he wrote some of the best personal story songs ever, in my hugely biased opinion. They vary widely in subject, but almost always relfect a single human being's life, love, and loss. They're not always sad songs - check out "30,000 Pounds Of Bananas (also on this album) for instance - but the best songs are always sad songs. Many of Harry's songs do deal with love affairs, love unrequited, love lost, and he even manages to make one very sad song turn into a joyous love-story in the very last verse.
You might know his "Cat's In The Cradle," telling how our children grow apart from us, the same way we did from our own parents, and how lonely that can make someone feel. Ugly Kid Joe did a reasonable "rock" version of that one. He also wrote "Circle," - "All my life's a circle; Sunrise and sundown; Moon rolls thru the nighttime; Till the daybreak comes around...." - which the New Seekers had a hit with.
This song, though, is about a man, his dreams, and... well, just listen, please. It's called Mister Tanner, and was inspired by a singer named Martin Tubridy, and to sort of square the circle there's video on YouTube of Martin Tubridy, joined by Harry's brother, Steve and Steve's son Jonathan Chapin, performing the song at the "Harry Chapin: A Celebration in Song" concert to benefit the Harry Chapin Foundation on November 12, 2016.
Martin sings the part made famous by Harry's bass-player, "Big" John Wallace, which is the chorus from "O Holy Night" (a.k.a. "Cantique de Noël") by Adolphe Adam. It's worth remembering when listening that John was "just" Harry's bass player.
This is from one of the best live albums ever made, both sound-wise, and atmospheriocally, "Greatest Stories Live".
Anyway, after all that build up, here's trhe song itself. Sit quietly, peacefully, and listen to the words, they're really the whole point of the song. Don't worry if you get a bit of dust, or something, in your eye, and a tear should trickle down your cheek. It can have that effect.
Harry Chapin is one of the few artists I really regret never having the opportunity to see live, and he wrote some of the best personal story songs ever, in my hugely biased opinion. They vary widely in subject, but almost always relfect a single human being's life, love, and loss. They're not always sad songs - check out "30,000 Pounds Of Bananas (also on this album) for instance - but the best songs are always sad songs. Many of Harry's songs do deal with love affairs, love unrequited, love lost, and he even manages to make one very sad song turn into a joyous love-story in the very last verse.
You might know his "Cat's In The Cradle," telling how our children grow apart from us, the same way we did from our own parents, and how lonely that can make someone feel. Ugly Kid Joe did a reasonable "rock" version of that one. He also wrote "Circle," - "All my life's a circle; Sunrise and sundown; Moon rolls thru the nighttime; Till the daybreak comes around...." - which the New Seekers had a hit with.
This song, though, is about a man, his dreams, and... well, just listen, please. It's called Mister Tanner, and was inspired by a singer named Martin Tubridy, and to sort of square the circle there's video on YouTube of Martin Tubridy, joined by Harry's brother, Steve and Steve's son Jonathan Chapin, performing the song at the "Harry Chapin: A Celebration in Song" concert to benefit the Harry Chapin Foundation on November 12, 2016.
Martin sings the part made famous by Harry's bass-player, "Big" John Wallace, which is the chorus from "O Holy Night" (a.k.a. "Cantique de Noël") by Adolphe Adam. It's worth remembering when listening that John was "just" Harry's bass player.
This is from one of the best live albums ever made, both sound-wise, and atmospheriocally, "Greatest Stories Live".
Anyway, after all that build up, here's trhe song itself. Sit quietly, peacefully, and listen to the words, they're really the whole point of the song. Don't worry if you get a bit of dust, or something, in your eye, and a tear should trickle down your cheek. It can have that effect.
